Artgasm, Motrin and Rest (forced and voluntary)

in awe in the Degas sculpture room
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

It was time for my annual vacation. I went to New York for a week, then rested and played with friends for the rest of the time. It was quite pleasant.

Here are the memorable moments:
- gallery hopping with Charlotte
- watching basketball games with Charlotte and Josh
- art, art, art!!! = artgasm
- getting sick and having to go to the ER
- going back to the ER because I was still in pain and throwing up, then being told by the doctor to simply take some Motrin
- sitting around and watching lots of trashy television during my times of rest
- the Degas sculpture room! I yelped with glee.
- Picasso's later works. Mind-blowing.
- S'mores cupcake
- finding the perfectly sensible black blazer (thanks to Charlotte's good eye)
- meeting up with Matt: eating the yummiest mushroom burger ever and talking about books
- watching "The 39 Steps" with John MSN
- wine and cheese night with Charlotte
- girl talk with Charlotte

I heart Charlotte (and NY). But, Charlotte more.

At the end of the day,
"We got more bounce in California
Than all y'all combined
We got more bounce in California
We like to party all the time
We got more bounce in California
Where the hustlers all reside
We got more bounce in California
Rollin' easy when we ride"

It's good to be back home.

One Mic

One Mic
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

Went to a spoken word event last week and it was mind-blowing. I cried, I laughed, I swooned. I was all over the place.

A few of my observations:
- Poets are intense.
- Poets have good taste in shoes.
- It's fun to boo at the judges when you don't agree with their scores.
- Everyone has issues.

This week has been much better:

Two Thumbs Up
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

- No breakdowns during meetings
- No boy(s) dramarama
- Good sleep

I am pleased.
Looking forward to a four-day weekend. :)

JJ is a music video star:

Oh, and his Chevy too.

Boy Advice from Andrew:

Andrew working...
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

"good luck w/ the boys. we can be good and/or troubles. just don't read into guys too much. generally speaking, there isn't too much to read. unless this male is a lady-boy!"

He cracks me up.

St. Vincent

street art
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

"But I'm a wife in watercolors
I can wash away

Seventeen cold showers
Couldn't wash away

Save me
Save me
Save me from what I want"

Currently obsessed with:

Neat Rock
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

- finding neat rocks
- documentaries. "Dear Zachary" rocked my world.
- The Black Keys
- finding the perfect dining table
- blood oranges

Las Vegas

Water show at the Bellagio
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

It was my first time exploring the strange town of Las Vegas. It felt like a huge bizarre amusement park because there was music everywhere.

A list of my impressions and experiences:
- overwhelming
- too much stimuli
- yummy drinks
- yummy naps by the pool
- fun water show at the Bellagio
- lots of dancing
- a couple of not-so-good decisions

Not so sure everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

We'll see.

Documentaries

I've had a strong inclination towards documentaries lately.

- 'The Business of Being Born' explores the physical and emotional aspects of childbirth. It actually made me not so fearful of the birthing process. Although, it did make me a bit scared of the enormity of pregnant women's boobs.
- 'Bigger, Stronger, Faster' takes a look at the use/abuse of steroids by gym rats and athletes. It was quite disturbing.
- 'Man on Wire' is probably my favorite thus far. It's the amazing story of a French wire-walker who walks across a wire connecting the two World Trade Center towers.

House AND Mos Def?!

I'm so excited.

Mama Liu

Mama Liu was so proud of taking this cheesy picture
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

"Why do YOU get presents when I was the one in pain?"

Mama Liu gave me one of the most memorable presents ever. She read journal entries she wrote to document my growth.

Memorable lines:
- "March 24, 1983 4:30 a.m. Hanjong and I go to the hospital because my stomach hurts. It was kind of drizzly, so I wore a coat."
- My mom documented pretty much all my sleeping patterns. My mom likes to sleep (as do I - I guess I get it from my mom), so this was all very important information for her.
- "Youngeun doesn't like dolls. She prefers playing with pencils and paper. She walks around always carrying a book by her side."
- "Baby Youngeun does not like to eat meat."
- "1996. Youngeun is not so nice anymore. I think she's going through puberty."

I'm glad I'm my mom's daughter.

First Day of Spring/DOB Celebration

so happy for dessert
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

So, the Ok Go show got postponed because one of the band members was sick. However, the night was fantastic. It was a night of good food, delightful company and LOTS of dancing. We ended up going to a club and I believe there was much more dancing than there would have been at the Ok Go show, so I was very happy. While we were dancing, a couple of more people from my work showed up. The two ladies are probably in their 50's and simply put: fabulous. They could probably out-dance any one of us there. I hope I'm that fabulous when I'm their age...

Overall, it was nice seeing old friends and celebrating with new friends.

Light

in the tent
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

Funny-Ironic-Sad

"See Grace. This is what it's like to date YOU."
- Mon

I think a healthy relationship is a miracle.
To meet someone.
For both sides to fall in love at the same time.
To grow that love.
It's a miracle.

Meeting someone with the same issues as myself has been an eye-opening experience. As Mon says, it's like someone is putting a mirror up in front of me. So, the funny-ironic-sad part is that I finally felt ready to take a risk and work on my commitment issues. But, it turns out he has the same issues and is basically freaking out the way "the old me" would have. So, I can't even really be upset with him because I completely understand. Either way, I'm definitely learning a lot and hopefully growing a little bit too.

Spring!

Spring!
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

I'm so excited for Spring.

JJ Quote of the Day

You don't bring sand to the beach.
That's what you're doing.

Liberation!

It was such a delightful weekend in San Francisco.

Growing up, I haven't always felt the closest with my fellow girl-kind. It's hard to say when that started or why, but I just felt more comfortable around guys. This past weekend was all about being a girl. Kendall and I visited Mon. We hung out with her fabulous roommate Tara and Jenn, whom I befriended the last time I visited. It was such a wonderful weekend of art, walks, going out, dancing, affirmations and girly talks about moments of liberation. It was so nice to feel so loved and be in love with everyone. I think all the talk of liberation gave me an extra boost of confidence this week to check off one more thing on my things to do before I die: ask a guy out. I had been waiting around for the right guy to risk losing my dignity when being rejected, but just hadn't found anyone "worth it". And then I thought, it's silly for the guy to always have to ask a girl out. I'm trying to take more risks this year. We'll see how that turns out. So now, I feel the pressure of having to keep the conversation going when we do go out because I asked him. Is this what guys go through before a date? Eek. However things turn out, I think this was a good exercise for me and I encourage all women to try it at least once. It's quite liberating.

Love boldly! Live generously!

"Be your own star!" - Jenn

Can't sleep.

:(

The Blues

I went to a tapas bar last Friday and there was this older gentleman singing the blues. He was fantastic. This led me to explore my current selection of the blues and it's quite lacking. He sang a lot of Muddy Waters, so that's where I'm heading.

Today is Etta James. All day.
She's so rad.

Lego

I Lego N.Y.

I had to drop by work in the morning to finish up something before I went to LegoLand on Friday.
Lucy: Oh, today's your day off. What are you doing today?
Me: Going to Legoland.
Lucy: You're taking some nieces or nephews?
Me: Nope, going with a friend. Two grown adults.

It was quite a bizarre place. So many legos. My favorite was MiniLand where they had replications of various places around the world. Oh, and they had a special inauguration exhibit, which was fantastic.